An Ohio court sentenced actor Drake Bell to one-year probation
on Monday on the charges of attempted child endangerment and disseminating
matter harmful to juveniles. The “Drake & Josh” actor had pleaded
guilty to the charges last month.

The charges on Bell stemmed from an incident in Ohio that
happened in 2017.

The court handed the sentence
to the actor after the victim of the crime gave a lengthy statement via videoconference. The now 19-year-old woman told the court that she was 15
at the time she exchanged texts of a sexual nature with Bell, whom she had met
through her aunt at the age of 12.

“Every night I dread going to sleep because I do not
want to see him in my nightmares. He was such a huge part of my childhood, and
in return, he ruined my life,” the victim was quoted by CNN as saying.

The woman also alleged that Bell had sexually assaulted her
on two occasions. The actor denied the
assault allegations.  Ian Friedman, the
defence attorney, admitted the exchange of sexual text messages, but categorically
denied the assault allegations.

“His conduct was not correct, it was not proper. But I
have to be very clear. What the victim is claiming to have occurred here — the
evidence, in this case, would suggest that it did not happen,” Friedman said.

“If the prosecutors felt that that was a provable case,
I am sure we would not be talking here today about an ‘attempted child
endangerment’ (charge) and a ‘disseminating matter harmful to a minor,” he
added.

In his statement to the court, the actor said that he
accepts the plea because his conduct was wrong. “I am sorry that the
victim was harmed in any way but that was obviously not my intention,”
Bell added.

While Bell was delivering his statement, his unidentified
victim could be seen crying, CNN reported.

Bell’s probation will be transferred to California, the
state of his residence. A Californian court will review his sexual offender
status.